Like it or not, Europe is paying the transaction costs of diversity
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1782230,00.html
Renaissance Europe's restless pluralism brought great creativity, but
also bloodshed. Now we have peace without dynamism
Timothy Garton Ash
Thursday May 25, 2006
The Guardian
To be in Florence is to reflect on Europe's intricate diversity - and
its lost creativity. Five hundred years ago a small city state, locked
in fierce rivalry with its neighbours, nourished the genius of
Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Machiavelli. Now the old city lives
mainly from tourism and the production of luxury goods, such as
clothing and leatherware. Its walls are plastered with advertisements
for the film of The Da Vinci Code. From Leonardo to Dan Brown.
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